Financial tips & advice

When you’ve been hurt from an accident, it goes without saying that it’s something that can really turn your whole world upside down. What you will need to do from here before you do anything else is try to get a legal advocate on your side.

The biggest question that you probably have right now is, “Can I claim?”, and if you can claim, you need to figure out how much you actually stand to make. This is a subject that a lot of people really don’t like to discuss, because it means that they have to start thinking about money. It may be a little uncomfortable to talk about money, but the truth is that you’re still going to need to make sure that you really can take care of your family no matter what. If you don’t want to talk about money, that’s definitely your business but the reality here is that you’re going to eventually need to discuss money. You’re going to eventually need to start thinking about the world around you and how the lack of income could hurt your family.

Worried about how much it’s going to cost to get a solicitor to hear you out? No problem! That’s actually a valid concern. Most people know that lawyers aren’t cheap, but what most don’t realize is that you don’t have to go forever without getting the attention you need from a legal professional. What you really need to do is make sure that you focus on getting the best solicitor that can take your case on a no win no fee basis.

The term no win no fee means exactly what you think it would. If they cannot get you a favourable outcome, then there is no fee for their services. Don’t worry about not being able to afford a solicitor outright. If you have a solid case for compensation, they’re going to make sure that your injury claims don’t go unnoticed. They’re going to make sure that you don’t have to worry about how to take care of your family.

Yes, there are government schemes to help you when you are disabled and you need assistance. However, do you really want to try to wait on that? And you can also work with the insurance company, but again — do you really want to just leave something like that to chance? Probably not. You are probably going to want to make sure that you focus on getting the money that you and your family need to put the accident behind you.

Insurance companies look out for their own bottom line — why not use a good solicitor to look after your own?

Your physical health is pretty important, since without it you really can’t do anything else. Most people know to diet and exercise, get lots of sleep and try to avoid stress as much as possible. However, there are things that you will need to do with your financial health in order to thrive and grow for the future. One of those things would be to protect your regular income. Without a steady income, there is very little that you can honestly do for yourself. You will end up bluing unable to get the things that set your financial plans in motion, and that’s not good at all. So you want to always think about everything that you need to do at the end of the day in order to keep things moving. This is important not just in the short term, but in the long term.

Income protection cover is one of those things that you can use to protect your financial health for the long term. No one wants to think about a time where they are so sick that they cannot work. However, the reality is that there are unexpected events that can really change things as you know them — why would you want to try to go without taking care of things? That just wouldn’t be fun, or fair to you at all! Your family would suffer for no real reason, which is completely unacceptable in just about any way you can think of.

One of the first things that people think about when it comes to insurance coverage is the cost. This is understandable, since you want to be able to afford the monthly premiums. However, if you really want to protect your financial health and avoid falling into financial disrepair, you will need to find a way to afford the premiums no matter what.

Yes, it’s tempting to believe that you don’t really have to do anything at all, and that’s true. You don’t have to do anything. You could honestly go your whole life without income protection insurance and probably not suffer any bad effects. But doing this is essentially rolling the dice and hoping that your “number” doesn’t come up. That’s not really a healthy way to life, because if the worst does happen you’re going to be caught between a rock and a hard place — who really wants to put themselves in that type of position? You know what to do — check out income protection insurance from Unum.co.uk today!

The concept of a guarantor must have been around for many years in one form or another but 2004 saw the emergence of the first real “guarantor loan” lender in the UK. Over the next 8 years they established themselves as the market leader. A lot of people dismissed the concept claiming that people (mostly parents and close family) would rather lend their own money or act as a guarantor using their own bank as lender, facilitating much lower rates. However they have been proved wrong and the sector continues to enjoy strong growth. The main driver for this growth is clearly the credit crunch and the fact that the unsecured personal loans market all but disappeared except for those with perfect credit histories.

It’s no exaggeration to suggest that guarantor loans may offer the only route to obtaining credit for those who have no other asset base. In fact, they have been marketed as a method of rebuilding your credit history by demonstrating to lenders that regular payments are being met.

Unfortunately, in the early days before the OFT woke up and smelled the coffee and before the EU Directive, a parallel market grew up – almost an industry in it’s own right – brokers charging fees of up to £90 on the promise of being offered a loan.

Unsuspecting applicants thought that if they paid a fee their chances of obtaining credit would be increased. An understandable assumption to make perhaps. Some companies made millions from this practice. It’s not that the laws were not in place to deal with the new threat – Section 155 of the Consumer Credit Act deals with this in detail, but the OFT “forgot” to enforce it. The fee can only be charged if a loan actually completes and is paid out. Other than that, the broker is only entitled to retain a fee of £5 if the loan does not eventuate after a period of 6 months. It’s simple – there are no grey areas in the legislation.

The other problem that emerged was too much reliance on the guarantor. This has now been corrected by the EU Directive, which demands that lenders apply strict affordability tests to both the applicant and the guarantor. In fact, this is giving too much credit to the EU Directive – practically speaking, it’s actually the funding sources – the larger banks such as RBS that now insist that strict affordability tests are performed by the guarantor lenders. They make it a condition of funding so it’s easily enforced.

Another unfortunate misconception that arose was that only the guarantor was responsible for ultimately repaying the loan. This myth was perpetuated by the fee charging brokers and was supported by marketing strap lines such as “no credit checks”. This has now been partially offset with the evolution of affordability checks.

Guarantor lending is still a niche market. The current total market is only around 5 million per month, spread across a handful of lenders.

The lack of available credit is not only driving market expansion but product innovation. The burgeoning payday loans sector becomes a very costly solution if left to roll over each month, which unfortunately is too often the case. Borrowing money never solves any underlying problems the applicant may have. New hybrid guarantor loan products have emerged, whereby the guarantor no longer needs to be a homeowner.

The amounts that can be borrowed are smaller than traditional guarantor loans – usually up to £2000 and are typically taken over a 12-month term. This makes them more affordable than payday loans, which in turn makes them an attractive proposition, especially as the APR rates are much lower than payday loans. However, as with secured loans, increasing the term offsets some of the benefit of the lower APR, as the total amount repayable increases. So as usual, there is always a careful balance to be struck and careful judgments to be made. These hybrids are definitely a better solution to longer term credit problems and the market has already decided that there is a place for this type of product.

If you’ve caught up on this site at all in the past, you will know that one of the first things that we teach people new to the world of personal finance is that they need to really step back and create their own type of financial blueprint. This is the best way to make sure that you are definitely going to be able to take care of yourself in the long run as well as the short term.

But what happens when you really don’t know where to start with your financial blueprint. It’s nice to know that you can create a plan for your life, but if you really have never done this then you’re going to be a bit lost and confused at how to actually get things set up properly. Thankfully, there are people that can help you with what you really want to do.

What you need to do here is start looking at UK accountants — they can use their expertise to help you move forward financially. A lot of people don’t think of going to an accountant because they assume that it’s only for businesses, but that’s not the case at all.

You can indeed go to a great accounting team in order to finally get the jumpstart on your finances that you need. We don’t blame you at all for wanting someone to help you figure all of this stuff out.

You need a great accounting team, which you can check out one over at www.nixonwilliams.com — there’s no reason in the world not to get the best help possible for something as important as your finances.

Just because you’re looking into getting help from an accountant for your financial blueprint now doesn’t mean that you will always need them. You may get to a point where you really don’t need them anymore. This means that you can turn around and focus on the rest of your life.

It’s really difficult to think about anything when your finances really aren’t where they need to be. By focusing on what really counts you set the tone to really go places you can hardly imagine. But it all starts with getting the right financial help from the beginning. Don’t feel ashamed or embarrassed for asking for a little help!

Getting your brand noticed is hugely important in boosting customer awareness and sales, but just how are you meant to do this? By reading our tips on marketing ideas that won’t break the bank, you will be able to get your company to stand out from your competitors.

So, you want to have a brilliant, all-singing-all-dancing marketing strategy, but you think you can’t afford to do so? Think again. There are many things you can do to bring your company out of the shadows and they don’t need to cost a fortune.

Set up a stand at a trade fair

Setting up a stand at a trade fair is one of the best ways to draw attention to your firm for many reasons. You can attract attention from passersby with banners and posters and, once you have got their interest, you can use this opportunity to meet potential customers and clients face-to-face so you can advertise your firm on a personal level.

This is a great chance to find out more about your target market, and inform them about who you are and what you do on a one-to-one basis.

A good way to get their attention – and keep it for months, perhaps even years, to come – is to give away freebies. By putting out something inexpensive, such as sweets or chocolates, on your stall, you have a better chance of grabbing the interest of those walking by.

Simply by handing out novelty treats, you’re sure to see more people come your way – just watch and see!

Hand out promotional gifts

Giving out promotional merchandise is one of the best ways to stay in the minds of your target audience.
Whether they are engraved pensor branded USB sticks, you will find that many people will happily make use of your promotional gift, and keep hold of it for a long time to come.

According to the British Promotional Merchandise Association (BPMA), 87 per cent of people who have been given a promotional item kept it for more than a year. The BPMA study also revealed that 33 per cent kept hold of the item for between 12 months and two years, and as much as 30 per cent for between three and four.

If you’re considering which items to give away that will get repeated exposure, think about distributing promotional mugs, as the BPMA’s findings showed that 18 per cent of the British public kept a printed mug for longer than any other piece of promotional merchandise.

Grab attention in public spaces

You don’t need to sign up to a corporate event or a trade fair in order to reach your target market. More often than not, your potential customers can be found among the general public walking around busy town centres throughout the week.

Therefore, why not make use of these public areas and get members of staff to advertise your firm outdoors? They could put on T-shirts with your brand’s name printed on so passersby know what company they work for, and staff could hand out leaflets providing more information about your firm to commuters, shoppers, businesspeople and students – whoever you are trying to market your business to.

This won’t cost a lot, and by getting your workers to use loudspeakers, banners and other techniques to attract the attention of the public, you could boost awareness of your firm and encourage more people to use your services in the future.

Handing out promotional gifts, including keyrings, chocolates or lanyards, will also ensure that your company will remain in the minds of passersby after they have gone home, potentially for months to come.

It’s one thing to feel the squeeze from financial hard times when you go shopping, but it’s quite another to get ripped off in your own home. What are some helpful solutions to some of your most common financial questions regarding home maintenance? Keep reading to find out.

When it comes to necessary home expenses, must-haves like electricity and natural gas top the list. To make sure that you’re not paying too much for these services, keep track of all of your utility bills, either with paper copies or an online account that stores your statements from month to month. In three to six month increments, watch which direction your monthly totals change so that you can pinpoint which times of year are most expensive for maintaining your household. This will be the first step in determining how to cut your expenses.

You can also find out if you’re paying a fair price for your energy by getting online and doing a bit of research. You can compare electricity prices by searching for all of the providers in your area and then taking a close look at each company’s pricing, contract terms, and customer testimonials. If you need clarification for any information, don’t be afraid to call them on the phone and ask more questions. Once you decide whether you have a good company or you should switch, you’ll be glad that you did all the legwork.

The next step toward a more financially healthy lifestyle is to practice conservation. You can become more conservative financially by examining your credit card statements and writing down your cash expenditures relating to your home. If you’ve recently been tempted to purchase new curtains or artwork, try to think of alternatives such as homemade decor or thrift shopping to satisfy your urge to update without the need to whip out your credit card.

Another more important kind of conservation is energy conservation, which can also have a positive effect on your bank account. Using less electricity at home cuts carbon emissions, which is directly in line with the UK’s environmental initiative. Research also shows that one tenth of all home electricity is used for lighting, so switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs, which use less energy than older model incandescent bulbs. Similarly, installing extra insulation in your loft or attic could keep conditioned air from escaping your home, leading to a yearly savings of up to £150. Other ways to cut bills without reducing your comfort include adjusting your thermostat by one degree, which can cut your AC and heating expenses by 10 per cent, and upgrading your appliances to more energy-efficient models, which can save £45 every year.

Pay attention to your water use as well. Conserve water by using a low-flow shower head and placing a timer in the bathroom that encourages family members to keep their showers short. You can also turn down the temperature on your water heater to 110 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit to cut down on the amount of energy it takes to heat water.

With these tips, a little dedication and financial savvy can take you a long way. Instead of getting squeezed, learn how to stretch your home budget for a brighter financial outlook.